Giovanni Silva de Oliveira

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Personal information
Giovanni
Date of birth	February 4, 1972
Place of birth	Belem, Brazil
Height	190 cm (6.2 ft)
Nickname	Gio or Magos("magician")
Position	Attacking Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current club	Ethnikos Piraeus
Youth clubs
1989-1991	Tuna Luso
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1990-1991 1991-1992 1993-1993 1994-1994 1994-1994 1994-1996 1996-1999 1999-2005 2005-2006 2006 2006-	Taça Luz Tuna Luso Clube do Remo Paysandu Sport Club Sãocarlense Santos Futebol Clube FC Barcelona Olympiakos CFP Santos Futebol Clube Al Hilal Ethnikos Piraeus	{{{caps(goals)}}}
National team**
1993-2003	Brazil	20 (6)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 1999.

Giovanni Silva de Oliveira (born February 4, 1972), better known as Giovanni, is a football player from Brazil. He plays as a forward for Ethnikos Pireaus -A.O. Manis in the Greek National B Division and he was also capped in the Brazilian national team, Born in Abaetetuba, Giovanni started his career in 1991 at Tuna Luso. In 1993, he scored 24 goals, before joining Remo and Sãocarlense before moving to Brazilian top club Santos in 1995. Pele paid himself for his transfer, and proclaimed him as the "new Pele". In his first season he scored in half of the games he played, while in his second he claimed 25 goals in 19 games. After Santos FC, he moved to Spanish FC Barcelona in 1996. He was a first team regular for two seasons and scored 18 goals overall. Barcelona fans still remember him for his ability to score game winning goals against Real Madrid.

He moved to Olympiacos in the summer of 1999 and soon established himself as one of the best players in the history of the Greek league.

A flamboyant and temperamental player, he was known for his great dribbling and his ability to hang the goalkeeper and pass the ball through defender's legs. His technique and the variety of fascinating moves made Olympiakos' fans think of him as the most talented player passed from their team and loved him as a gifted hero. His skills earned him the nickname "magos"(wizard) in Greece.

He was the leading goalscorer in Greece in the 2003-2004 season with 21 goals. After six seasons he left the Piraeus club in 2005 to return to São Paulo and Santos FC.

In the beginning of 2006, he signed a one year contract with Saudi Arabia leading team Al Hilal Club in what was thought to be the last stop of his career. However, on August 15, 2006, Giovanni signed a one-year contract with 2nd division Greek club Ethnikos Piraeus for 400,000 Euros, deciding to end his career in the stadium primarily known as the Olympiacos home turf, the Karaiskakis Stadium.

Giovanni received the "Brazilian Golden Ball" in 1995. In 2000 he was nominated "Best foreign footballer in Greek championship".

[edit] Clubs

1990 - 1991: Taça Luz (Brazil)
1991 - 1992: Tuna Luso (Brazil)
1993 - 1993: Clube do Remo (Brazil)
1994 - 1994: Paysandu Sport Club (Brazil)
1994 - 1994: Grêmio Esportivo Sãocarlense (Brazil)
1994 - 1996: Santos Futebol Clube (Brazil)
1996 - 1999: FC Barcelona (Spain)
1999 - 2005: Olympiacos (Greece)
2005 - 2006: Santos Futebol Clube (Brazil)
2006: Al Hilal Football Club (Saudi Arabia)
2006 - 2007: Ethnikos Piraeus (Greece)

[edit] National team

Giovanni has 20 caps with the Brazilian national team (6 goals).

He played during the Football World Cup 1998.

[edit] Honours

Copa America in 1997 with the Brazilian national team
Stanley Rous Cup in 1997 with the Brazilian national team
Campeonato Paraense (Pará State championship) in 1993 with Clube do Remo
Supercopa de España in 1997 with FC Barcelona
Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 with FC Barcelona
European Super Cup in 1997 with FC Barcelona
La Liga in 1997 and 1998 with FC Barcelona
Copa del Rey in 1997 with FC Barcelona
Winner of Greek Championship in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 with Olympiacos
Winner of Greek Cup in 2005 with Olympiacos

	Brazil squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Runners-up
1 Taffarel \| 2 Cafu \| 3 Aldair \| 4 Júnior Baiano \| 5 César Sampaio \| 6 Roberto Carlos \| 7 Giovanni \| 8 Dunga \| 9 Ronaldo \| 10 Rivaldo \| 11 Emerson \| 12 Carlos Germano \| 13 Zé Carlos \| 14 Gonçalves \| 15 André Cruz \| 16 Zé Roberto \| 17 Doriva \| 18 Leonardo \| 19 Denílson \| 20 Bebeto \| 21 Edmundo \| 22 Dida \| Coach: Zagallo